She said: “We started last December when Willow had a limp. We obviously went to the vets because we thought she’d strained it so she was given reduced exercise and pain killers, and that seemed to calm it down.

"We then had to go back to the vets in February because it was really bad again, and she had an x-ray and they found that in her right elbow she has elbow dysplasia, which is a form of arthritis.

"She was in a bad way, and the anti-inflammatories and pain killers didn’t work, reduced exercise didn’t work, and the vet said that it really would mean an arthroscope in Cambridge."

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Lynda was happy to go ahead with the keyhole surgery until she heard Willow would need to be confined to a crate for the next two months in recovery.

She said: "She's never been crated and she couldn’t cope with it, she was bad enough with the reduced exercise and after the x-ray – she cried all evening.

"If dogs don’t get exactly the post-operative care they need, the operation doesn’t work, so we started coming here – I mean, I was quite distressed because I’m widowed, and my daughter lives away, so she’s my companion.

Willow was then brought to Healing Waters Canine Hydrotherapy, where she and Lynda met Joanne Carberry - a veterinary nurse who opened the practice just over a year ago.

Healing Waters staff celebrate the practise's one year anniversary

The Labrador has now had 35 treatment sessions in both the hydrotherapy pool with jets and on the aquatic treadmill. Lynda says since she started hydrotherapy, Willow is a different dog.

She said: “I think it was about four weeks or six weeks after she started hydrotherapy that she stopped limping - the treadmill particularly worked for her, though she had both treatments. "

On the aquatic treadmill, Willow walks in knee-deep water for short periods at a low speed - encouraged by a tube of cheese. The density and buoyancy of the water help strengthen her muscles, reduce pain, and improve cardiovascular fitness.

Lynda said: "She lost around 5cm from her waist, and the treatment helped her put back the muscle tone she lost because of the pain in her elbow.

(Image: Jon Corken)

"She's just got in such tip top condition, so although she's not limping we’re still having one session a week to maintain her condition and her fitness, because it’s a condition that you have to manage.

"It has just worked wonders - I cannot praise the treatment highly enough."

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Lynda said members of her family have also noticed a huge difference in Willow since starting hydrotherapy.

She said: "I took her on holiday with my daughter and their Labrador and she was racing around the beach - my daughter was gobsmacked.

"She said 'you wouldn't believe this dog had anything wrong with her.'

"We still come now because it keeps her fitness up, and particularly during the winter they can get flare ups so we bring her once a week to keep her in tip-top condition.

“It’s almost a miracle to me, I know she’s not cured, but she virtually does everything that she did before."

After 35 hydrotherapy sessions, Willow is now limp-free and fitter than ever. (Image: Jon Corken)

Joanne agrees that Willow has made huge improvements since her very first session.

She said: "Willow has never had any incidents of lameness or stiffness since her seventh session, so I think it took us that long to get the joints stabilised and to get a build up of muscle and she's never had any issues since.

"I did wonder how she would cope with two weeks on the beach but it was fantastic, really thrilled to bits with her."